Insulated container and method of forming and loading an insulated container

ABSTRACT

An insulated shipping container and method of forming and loading an insulated container utilizing sustainable materials including recycled post-industrial, pre-consumer natural fiber, plant-based fiber and synthetic fiber to include recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

CROSS-REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 63/132,326 entitled “INSULATED CONTAINER” which was filed on Dec.30, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

This application further expressly incorporates by reference thefollowing patent publications in their entireties: U.S. Pat. Nos.10,112,756; 10,246,236; 10,676,263; US Patent Publication 2018/0257844A1; and International Patent Publication WO 2019/125511 A1. Applicantalso incorporates by reference the entirety of the following ASTMstandards publications: ASTM DD511-18; ASTM D5511-12; ASTM D5511-11.

FIELD

This disclosure relates to the field of containers. More particularly,this disclosure relates to insulated containers. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to the field of insulated shipping containersutilizing sustainable materials including recycled post-industrial,pre-consumer natural fiber, plant-based fiber and synthetic fiber toinclude recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The containersaccording to the present invention may be used in transporting andstoring objects which may be at a temperature that is different from thetemperature outside the container. In addition to stability, an aspectof the present invention relates to manufacture and assembly whichachieves unexpected efficiencies.

BACKGROUND

There is a long felt need in the art for a packaging material whichaffords safe transportation of temperature sensitive materials, whichhas a consistent density, which maintains an internal temperaturerelative to an external temperature, which is efficiently andeconomically manufactured, which is efficiently and economicallyassembled for shipment, which is lightweight, and which minimizesnegative impacts to the environment. There is an equally long felt needin the art for an insulated container that may be efficientlymanufactured and loaded.

SUMMARY

The present invention is an insulated shipping container which affordssafe transportation of temperature sensitive products, which has aconsistent density, which maintains an internal temperature relative toan external temperature, which is efficiently and economicallymanufactured, assembled, and loaded, which is lightweight, and whichminimizes harmful impacts to the environment.

The present invention utilizes recycled post-industrial, pre-consumernatural fiber, plant-based fiber, synthetic fiber and recycledpolyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber. Post-industrial, pre-consumercotton and synthetic waste may include fiber material gleaned and/ortrimmed as part of cotton and synthetic material manufacturing andconverting process. Such fiber material, collected from themanufacturing process, may contain small pieces of cotton seed pods andstems removed as part of the manufacturing process. These fibermaterials may or may not have been converted into finished products(such as clothing or other fabrics).

However, the invention is not limited only to waste generated from asingle manufacturing or converting process. As such, post-industrial,pre-consumer waste may be from raw cotton processing, cotton yarnmanufacturing, cotton fabric manufacturing, synthetic fabricmanufacturing, plastic recycling process and related processes such ascarding, airlay, garneting, and other similar methods of manufacturing.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an insulated containerthat may have a rigid container having a bottom, front, rear, left, andright sides, and a selectively closable top side. The bottom and topsides may have substantially a same length and width as one another. Theleft and right sides may have a substantially same height and width asone another. The front and rear sides may have a substantially sameheight and width as one another. The insulated container may alsoinclude a first insulated pad having a quantity of post-industrial,pre-consumer cotton waste and/or synthetic waste having a predeterminedthickness and density, having a length and a width, and having aperimeter calculated by adding the length and the width and multiplyingby two. The insulated container may have a second insulated padidentical to the first insulated pad. The insulated container may have athird insulated pad having a quantity of post-industrial, pre-consumercotton waste and or synthetic waste, having the same thickness anddensity as the first insulated pad, and having a length that is longerthan the width of the first insulated pad, but is shorter than theperimeter of the first insulated pad. The insulated container may beconstructed such that the first insulated pad is positioned inside therigid container in contact with the bottom of the rigid container, thethird insulated pad is positioned perpendicular to the first insulatedpad and is in contact with the front, rear, left, and right sides of therigid container, and second insulated pad is positioned atop the thirdinsulated pad.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the insulatedcontainer has exactly three insulated pads. That is, not one pad, nottwo pads, not four or more pads but exactly three insulated pads, nomore, no less.

According to another embodiment of the invention, each of the first,second, and third insulated pads further may include a natural fiber orsynthetic lamination layer attached to top and bottom surfaces but notto any edge surfaces of the respective insulated pad.

According to another embodiment of the invention, each of the first,second, and third insulation pads may be characterized by a lack of anycovering or lamination on respective top and bottom surfaces.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the insulatedcontainer may include a biodegradable or recyclable poly-wrap enclosurearound each of the respective first, second, and third insulated pads.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the term biodegradablemay be defined to mean that each of the respective first, second, andthird insulated pads will biodegrade completely within one year or less.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the height of each oneof the front, rear, left, and right sides of the rigid container may besubstantially the same as a combined height of the thickness of thefirst and second insulated pads and a width of the third insulated pad.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the height of each oneof the front, rear, left, and right sides of the rigid container may besubstantially longer than a combined height of the thickness of thefirst and second insulated pads and a width of the third insulated padwhen the respective first, second, and third pads are positioned in therigid container, wherein an uninsulated void is formed above the secondinsulated pad and below the top side of the rigid container.

According to another embodiment of the invention, one or more objectsmay be positioned in the uninsulated void wherein each one of the one ormore objects is stable at ambient temperature.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the one or moreobjects placed in the uninsulated void may include one or more of:gloves, syringes, tourniquets, medication, bandages, wipes, napkins,alcohol, paper, printed instructions, kitchen or table utensils, servingware, cookware, fruit, vegetables, herbs, and/or seasonings.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the insulated pads maybiodegrade completely when subjected to the conditions set forth in ASTMD5511-18.

According to a method of the invention, a method of forming and loadingan insulated container may include the steps of providing a rigidcontainer having a bottom, front, rear, left, and right sides, and aselectively closable top side wherein the bottom and top sides havesubstantially the same length and width as one another, wherein the leftand right sides have substantially the same height and width as oneanother, and wherein the front and rear sides have substantially thesame height and width as one another. Another step of the method mayinclude providing a quantity of post-industrial, pre-consumer cotton orsynthetic waste. Another step of the method of the invention may includeproviding a processing machine, selected from the group consisting ofcarding, airlay, and needle punch, configured to processpost-industrial, pre-consumer cotton or synthetic waste into acontinuous non-woven sheet having predetermined width, thickness, anddensity. A further step may include providing a knife device configuredto crosscut the continuous sheet at predetermined intervals therebyforming insulated pads each time the knife crosscuts the continuoussheet, wherein each of the insulated pads has a top surface, a bottomsurface, and four edge surfaces. Another step may include feeding thepost-industrial, pre-consumer cotton and synthetic waste into theprocessing machine. Another step may include cutting the continuoussheet as the continuous sheet exits the processing machine with theknife device to form a first insulated pad, a second insulated pad, anda third insulated pad, wherein the first and second insulated pads haveidentical lengths and identical widths, and the third insulated pad hasa length that is longer than the length of the first insulated pad butshorter than a perimeter of the first insulated pad where the perimeterof the first insulated pad is calculated by adding the length and thewidth of the first insulated pad and multiplying by two. Another stepmay include placing the first insulated pad into the rigid containersuch that the bottom surface of the first insulated pad rests on thebottom side of the container. Another step may include placing the thirdinsulated pad into the rigid container and folding the third insulatedpad along three parallel fold lines such that the bottom surface of thethird insulated pad contacts the front, rear, left, and right sides ofthe rigid container and the top surface of the third insulated pad facesan interior of the insulated container, and such that a bottom edge ofthe third insulated pad rests on the top surface of the first insulatedpad. Another step may include loading a thermally sensitive object intothe container wherein the thermally sensitive object contacts the topsurfaces of the first and/or third insulated pads. Another step mayinclude loading a cold pack into the container wherein the cold packcontacts the top surfaces of the first and/or the third insulated pads.Another step may include placing the second insulated pad into the rigidcontainer such that the top surface of the second insulated pad restson, and is supported by, the top edge of the third insulated pad,wherein collectively the first, second, and third insulated pads form aninsulated enclosure within the rigid container. A final step may includeclosing the top side of rigid container. According to such a method,each one of the respective first, second, and third insulated pads arebiodegradable in an anaerobic environment or recyclable.

According to another aspect of the method, the processing machine mayfurther apply a natural fiber lamination layer to the top and bottomsurfaces of the continuous pad, but not to any edge surfaces of thecontinuous pad.

According to another aspect of the method, an additional step mayinclude applying a biodegradable or recyclable poly-wrap enclosurearound each of the respective first, second, and third insulated pads.

According to another aspect of the method, a height of each one of thefront, rear, left, and right sides of the rigid container maysubstantially be the same as a combined height of the thickness of thefirst and second insulated pads and the width of the third insulated padafter placement of the respective first, second, and third pads in therigid container.

According to another embodiment of the method, the height of each one ofthe front, rear, left, and right sides of the rigid container may besubstantially longer than a combined height of the thickness of thefirst and second insulated pads and the width of the third insulated padafter placement of the respective first, second, and third pads in therigid container, wherein an uninsulated void is formed above secondinsulated pad and below the top side of the rigid container. Accordingto such an embodiment, a further step may include placing one or moreobjects in the uninsulated void wherein each one of the one or moreobjects is stable at ambient temperature. According to a still furtheraspect of the method, the one or more objects placed in the uninsulatedvoid may include one or more of: gloves, syringes, tourniquets,medication, bandages, wipes, napkins, alcohol, paper, printedinstructions, kitchen or table utensils, serving ware, cookware, fruit,vegetables, herbs, condiments, and/or seasonings.

The summary provided herein is intended to provide examples ofparticular disclosed embodiments and is not intended to cover allpotential embodiments or combinations of embodiments. Therefore, thissummary is not intended to limit the scope of the invention disclosurein any way, a function which is reserved for the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription, appended claims, and accompanying figures, wherein elementsare not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein likereference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views,and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in theunassembled state and highlighting the insulated pad which is enclosedin a poly-wrap;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in theunassembled state and showing the first pad being placed into the rigidcontainer;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in apartially assembled state and showing the partial folding of the thirdinsulated pad;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in apartially assembled state and showing the partial folding of the thirdinsulated pad;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in apartially assembled state and showing the complete folding of the thirdinsulated pad;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in apartially assembled state and showing the second insulated pad beingprepared for positioning on top of the third insulated pad;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in apartially assembled state and showing the second insulated pad installedand the top of the rigid container open;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in afully assembled state and showing the top of the rigid container closed;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in thepartially assembled state with the top of the rigid container open andshowing the uninsulated void above the second pad;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in thefully assembled state with the top of the rigid container closed andshowing the assembled first, second, and third insulated pads within therigid container and the uninsulated void above the second insulated pad;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 14 is a top view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 15 is a bottom view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 16 is a front view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 17 is a left side view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 18 is a rear side view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 19 is a right side view of the assembled insulated pads encased inpoly-wrap;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the assembled unfaced insulated pads;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the assembled unfaced insulated pads;

FIG. 22 is a top view of the assembled unfaced insulated pads;

FIG. 23 is a bottom view of the assembled unfaced insulated pads;

FIG. 24 is a front view of the assembled unfaced insulated pads;

FIG. 25 is a left side view of the assembled unfaced insulated pads;

FIG. 26 is a rear side view of the assembled unfaced insulated pads;

FIG. 27 is a right side view of the assembled unfaced insulated pads;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the assembled laminated insulated pads;

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the assembled laminated insulated pads;

FIG. 30 is a top view of the assembled laminated insulated pads;

FIG. 31 is a bottom view of the assembled laminated insulated pads;

FIG. 32 is a front view of the assembled laminated insulated pads;

FIG. 33 is a left side view of the assembled laminated insulated pads;

FIG. 34 is a rear side view of the assembled laminated insulated pads;and

FIG. 35 is a right side view of the assembled laminated insulated pads.

The figures are provided to illustrate concepts of the inventiondisclosure and are not intended to embody all potential embodiments ofthe invention. Therefore, the figures are not intended to limit thescope of the invention disclosure in any way, a function which isreserved for the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally, FIG. 1 shows the insulated container 10 according to thepresent invention. Rigid container 20 may be made from a paper-basedproduct such as cardboard or pasteboard and may generally form the shapeof a box. The rigid container 20 may have a cuboid shape that may be acube or a rectangular prism. As shown in FIG. 1 , the rigid container 20has a generally cube shape. FIG. 1 also shows the first insulated pad30, the second insulated pad 40, and third insulated pad 50. As shown inFIG. 1 , the unfaced 60 first, second, and third insulated pads are eachencased in a poly-wrap 62. First insulated pad 30 has length 32, width34, and thickness 36. Second insulated pad 40 has length 42, width 44,and thickness 46. Third insulated pad 50 has length 52, height/width 54and thickness 56. The thickness of each of the first, second, and thirdinsulated pads are the same in every embodiment. The length 32 of thefirst insulated pad 30 and the length 42 of the second insulated pad 40are the same in every embodiment of the present invention. Similarly,the width 34 of the first insulated pad 30 and the width 44 of thesecond insulated pad 40 are the same in every embodiment. That is, thefirst and second insulated pads are identical in length, width, andthickness. The height/width 54 of the third insulated pad 50 will varybased on desired application. The length 52 of the third insulated pad50 is shorter than the perimeter of the first insulated pad 30 where theperimeter is defined as the length 32 plus the width 34 multiplied bytwo.

Notably, the insulated container 10 according to the present inventionconsists of exactly three insulated pads, no more, no less, and theinvention is characterized by exactly three pads. Insulated containerswith more than three or less than three insulated pads are expresslyexcluded by the present invention. The present limitation directed to aninsulated container consisting of three and only three insulated pads isan unexpected result of previous designs focused on using two or fewerinsulated pads. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 10,246,236 discloses a pairof interlocking C shaped insulation pads. By way of a further example,WO 2019/125511 discloses a single insulation pad. The present inventionhas produced unexpected results in that the three insulation pads areactually less expensive to manufacture than two insulation pads or oneinsulation pad. This reduction in manufacturing costs is attributable toan aspect of the invention whereby a continuous sheet produced from anairlay machine can utilize a single cut with a knife at various lengthsof material as the material exits the machine. There is also anunexpected result in assembly and packing. During packing according tothe prior art, both the prior art interlocking C shaped insulated padsand the single T shaped insulated pad required an assembler to lift thetop flap in order to place the payload in the insulated container.However, the present invention has achieved an unexpected result inthat, during packing, the insulated container remains freely open untilafter the contents have been added to the insulated container, with thefinal step that the second insulated pad is added to the top. Thisaspect is especially important where medical contents are added andphotographed in the container prior to closure. From a shippingperspective, efficiencies are also achieved since the manufacturer canship rigid containers with the first and third insulated pads alreadypositioned in the rigid container and a large quantity of secondinsulated pads in a separate container, which separate container can bepositioned at the end of an assembly line. Prior art processes requiredthe packaging manufacturer to ship pads, including different size pads,separately from the rigid container which were then added to the rigidcontainer during assembly and packaging—adding to the cost ofmanufacturing. In short, it is an unexpected result that increasing thenumber of insulated pads would decrease cost to manufacture, transport,assemble, and pack the insulated container and increase efficienciesacross the spectrum.

The insulated pads 20, 30, 40 of the present invention are madepre-consumer post-industrial cotton or synthetic waste and are madeusing an airlay machine (not shown). One of skill in the art willrecognize that airlay is a process that has been used for some time inwhich bulk cotton or synthetic fiber is fed into the machine and airlaidnon-woven cotton and synthetic product exits. The airlay machineproduces a continuous sheet of non-woven cotton or synthetic fiber whichis then cut by a knife or die-cut press into a desired shape or profile.According to an embodiment of the present invention, a knife or die-cutpress (not shown) cuts the continuous sheet into square or rectangularshapes forming the insulated pads.

FIGS. 2 through 8 demonstrate how the insulated container 10 of thepresent invention is assembled using the rigid container 20, the firstinsulated pad 30, the second insulated pad 40, and the third insulatedpad 50. First, the first insulated pad 30 is placed in the bottom of therigid container 20. Next, the third insulated pad 50 is placed in therigid container 20 and folded along three parallel lines 58 which alignwith corners of the rigid container 20. The sides of the third insulatedpad 50 will be in contact with the sides of the rigid container 20.

At this point, as specifically shown in FIG. 6 , the insulated container20 may be shipped from its manufacturing facility to a packagingdestination where one or more objects (not shown), such medicine orfood, are placed in the container along with appropriate cooling packssuch as ice, dry ice, or other cooling packs. In such a scenario, thesecond insulation pad 40 is provided to the packaging destination at thesame time as the remainder of the insulation container 10 so that thefinal steps may be accomplished. That is, after the objects are placedin the container, the second insulated pad 40 is placed inside the rigidcontainer 10 atop the third insulated pad 50 and the top or lid of therigid container 20 is closed. Notably, the third insulated pad 50provides support to the second insulated pad 40 as shown in FIG. 7 .

Another embodiment is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 wherein there is anuninsulated void 70 above the second insulated pad 40. This uninsulatedvoid 70 is created by having the height 54 of the third insulated pad50, together with the thickness 36 of the first insulated pad, and thethickness 46 of the second insulated pad amounting to less than theheight of the rigid container 10. The uninsulated void 70 allowsproducts (not shown) which do not need to be insulated, or which cannotbe chilled, to be placed atop the second insulation pad 40 and yethoused within the rigid container 20. For instance, a medical suppliermay desire to ship medicine in the insulated portion, within the first,second, and third insulated pads while shipping a syringe and gloves inthe uninsulated void. Or, by way of another example, a food supplier maydesire to ship meat in the insulated portion, within the first, second,and third insulated pads, while providing stable condiments and utensilsin the uninsulated void. The resulting structure minimizes the storagevolume needed to be insulated and minimizes the necessity for additionalcontainers for shipment. These advances may have an economic and anenvironmental advantage.

FIGS. 11-35 show the first, second and third insulated pads 30, 40, 50in the assembled state without the rigid container. These views show howthe three pad design fits together inside the rigid container 10 (notshown in these figures). In particular, FIGS. 11-19 show the embodimentwhere the insulated pads are encased in poly-wrap. FIGS. 20-27 show theunfaced embodiment of the invention where the insulated pads 30, 40, 50have neither lamination nor poly-wrap but are characterized by a lack ofany outer layer. FIGS. 28-35 show the embodiment where the insulatedpads 30, 40, 50 have a surface lamination layer applied on the outercontact surfaces of the respective pads. This lamination may be madefrom a coffee filter paper, kraft paper, fluted-corrugate paper and thelike. It may be printable and have text, images and other indiciathereon. According to this embodiment, the edges of the insulated padsdo not have lamination.

An insulated container and method for forming and loading an insulatedcontainer according to the invention has been described with referenceto specific embodiments and examples. Various details of the inventionmay be changed without departing from the scope of the invention.Furthermore, the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments ofthe invention and best mode for practicing the invention are providedfor the purpose of illustration only and not for the purpose oflimitation, the invention being defined by the claims. It is envisionedthat other embodiments may perform similar functions and/or achievesimilar results. Any and all such equivalent embodiments and examplesare within the scope of the present invention and are intended to becovered by the appended claims.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the presentdisclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. The described preferred embodiments are not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the scope of the disclosure to the preciseform(s) disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible inlight of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and describedin an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of thedisclosure and its practical application, and to thereby enable one ofordinary skill in the art to utilize the concepts revealed in thedisclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as aresuited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications andvariations are within the scope of the disclosure as determined by theappended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to whichthey are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for”performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specificfunction, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause asspecified in 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 6. In particular, the use of “step of”in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 6.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming and loading an insulatedcontainer comprising the steps of: providing a rigid container having abottom, front, rear, left, and right sides, and a selectively closabletop side wherein the bottom and top sides have substantially the samelength and width as one another, wherein the left and right sides havesubstantially the same height and width as one another, and wherein thefront and rear sides have substantially the same height and width as oneanother; providing a quantity of post-industrial, pre-consumer cotton orsynthetic waste fiber; providing a processing machine, selected from thegroup consisting of carding, airlay, and needle punch, configured toprocess post-industrial, pre-consumer cotton or synthetic waste fiberinto a continuous non-woven sheet having predetermined width, thickness,and density; providing a knife device configured to crosscut thecontinuous sheet at predetermined intervals thereby forming insulatedpads each time the knife crosscuts the continuous sheet, wherein each ofthe insulated pads has a top surface, a bottom surface, and four edgesurfaces; feeding the post-industrial, pre-consumer cotton or syntheticwaste fiber into the processing machine; cutting the continuous sheet asthe continuous sheet exits the processing machine with the knife deviceto form a first insulated pad, a second insulated pad, and a thirdinsulated pad, wherein the first and second insulated pads haveidentical lengths and identical widths, and the third insulated pad hasa length that is longer than the length of the first insulated pad butshorter than a perimeter of the first insulated pad where the perimeterof the first insulated pad is calculated by adding the length and thewidth of the first insulated pad and multiplying by two; placing thefirst insulated pad into the rigid container such that the bottomsurface of the first insulated pad rests on the bottom side of thecontainer; placing the third insulated pad into the rigid container andfolding the third insulated pad along three parallel fold lines suchthat the bottom surface of the third insulated pad contacts the front,rear, left, and right sides of the rigid container and the top surfaceof the third insulated pad faces an interior of the insulated container,and such that a bottom edge of the third insulated pad rests on the topsurface of the first insulated pad; loading a thermally sensitive objectinto the container wherein the thermally sensitive object contacts thetop surfaces of the first and/or third insulated pads; loading a coldpack into the container wherein the cold pack contacts the top surfacesof the first and/or the third insulated pads placing the secondinsulated pad into the rigid container such that the top surface of thesecond insulated pad rests on and is supported by the top edge of thethird insulated pad, wherein collectively the first, second, and thirdinsulated pads form an insulated enclosure within the rigid container;and closing the top side of rigid container; wherein each one of therespective first, second, and third insulated pads are biodegradable inan anaerobic environment and/or recyclable.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the processing machine further applies a natural and/orsynthetic fiber lamination layer to the top and bottom surfaces of thecontinuous pad but not to any edge surfaces of the continuous pad. 3.The method of claim 1 wherein each of the first, second, and thirdinsulation pads are characterized by a lack of any covering orlamination on the respective top and bottom surfaces.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising an additional step of applying abiodegradable poly-wrap enclosure around each of the respective first,second, and third insulated pads.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein theterm biodegradable means that each of the respective first, second, andthird insulated cotton pads will biodegrade completely within one yearor less and/or are fully recyclable.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinthe insulated container is configured to maintain a lower internaltemperature for shipment duration when cold packs are used inside theinsulated area of the container.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein aheight of each one of the front, rear, left, and right sides of therigid container is substantially the same as a combined height of thethickness of the first and second insulated pads and the width of thethird insulated pad after placement of the respective first, second, andthird pads in the rigid container.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein theheight of each one of the front, rear, left, and right sides of therigid container is substantially longer than a combined height of thethickness of the first and second insulated pads and the width of thethird insulated pad after placement of the respective first, second, andthird pads in the rigid container, wherein an uninsulated void is formedabove second insulated pad and below the top side of the rigidcontainer.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step ofplacing one or more objects in the uninsulated void wherein each one ofthe one or more objects is stable at ambient temperature.
 10. The methodof claim 9 wherein the one or more objects placed in the uninsulatedvoid includes one or more of: gloves, syringes, tourniquets, medication,bandages, wipes, napkins, alcohol, paper, printed instructions, kitchenor table utensils, serving ware, cookware, fruit, vegetables, herbs,condiments, and/or seasonings.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein theinsulated cotton pads will biodegrade completely when subjected to theconditions set forth in ASTM D5511-18 and/or are recyclable.
 12. Themethod of claim 1 wherein a total number of insulated pads consists ofthree and only three insulated pads.